Money, money, money

Money. This is always a complicated subject, especially how we obtain it and how we spend it. As we are the church, there are some expectations built up about the church sponsoring the livelihoods of different people, who were marginalized and sidelined from mainstream society. It is always difficult to know how and when to support those in need. 

Many come to the church because there has been a tradition of giving away money, and people know the church to be charitable. This is when the church is at its best and worst at the same time. Some people take advantage of the church's generosity and know how to play a system to their advantage and they take advantage of opportunities. Some are quite deceitful while others are truly in need. Some know which support systems to befriend and often they befriend many of the same types. The stories are all sad and some of them might even be true. 

There are professional beggars who learn from an early age that their job in life is to go from one support system to another. They do quite fine and are often found in the downtown cafes with their argilla and sustaining meals. They have a range of stories to share and they depend upon a network of do-gooders who will respond to their outward stories without knowing the deeper stories behind them. 

Some know which priests have softer hearts and are generous with donations, whether it is from their personal money or from the church. Often, people will make a relationship with you so that you know them and believe their stories and continue to support their narrative. The bottomline is that it takes constant discernment to know which stories are true and which people are really in need of help.

While it is true that many people on the margins have been put into a system that taken advantage of them, some of those people exploit the church and learn to get what they want. I hear so many stories of people getting wrapped up in paying the rent or electricity for those in supposed need, while the rent is being paid by another source. Co-dependencies are built and a false narrative of exploitation continues, often with the church or people of goodwill getting fleeced. I'm glad I don't have to make these decisions today.

Years ago as pastor, I stopped the cycle of dependency. There had been a policy in place that if a certain person needed to return home at a different time than the contract stated, the wealthy parishioners would pay for it, or if a parishioner continually declined to pay for insurance, the wealthier parishioners would be called upon to pay for someone's operation. Therefore, people would refuse to pay insurance because it was not needed. I sent a message: buy your own insurance. In many cases, overseas workers would send generous amounts of money home and would not invest in their own health care or needs. When a need arose, one asks the parish priest to pay.

The church needs to be in a place of generosity and goodness, but it also has to vet the true narrative to be of special help. Giving money is seldom the answer, but helping people obtain resources, learn new skills, invest wisely, or get a new job is a way to solve the problems. While I maintained openness to deal with crisis issues, I needed to pass it to the parish council who could be involved in the process of determining the need and the actual components of the story. It seems like a fairer way of using parishioners' resources, which were limited. 

Ah, the continuing discernment of how to use church money for the greater good. It is a story that will be told and retold each time a new person is in charge of the policies. May we find a way to provide the most needed help to those who truly need it. Sometimes it is through financial donations; most of the times it is by helping people achieve financial stability through the improvement of their own lives.